First and foremost this aint no entertainment, but a biography of one of the famous female painters / artists of the yester-years : Frida Kahlo. Her chaotic life and the masterpiece paintings, her loyalty and promiscuity, her thirst for love and lust for both men and women, is all portrayed and described in 120 minutes.
The Background
Frida Kahlo led a vibrant, incessantly energetic life that had more shades of rainbow than the rainbow itself. Though in her young age an accident put her to a cast, she fought back with vengeance to get back on her feet (literally). On the way, she discovered her passion and inborn ability to paint and married her mentor and then-famous muralist Diego Rivera. At one end her paintings took her to the corners of the world and her lust saw her ’’womanizing’’ with interesting women of that time, and in other end she had to live with her husband’s infidelity and womanizing and also living on painkillers and physical agony. Probably it was her endurance that enabled her to pour her pain, anger, love and lust into her paintings.
The Story
The movie starts with a young Frida (Salma Hayek) fooling around with her boyfriend and spying on Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina). A serious bus accident injures her horribly and leaves her in a cast needing multiple surgeries and a flair to paint her thoughts and feelings... She recovers and takes her paintings (done when she was in her cast) to Diego for his views. Diego is impressed and offers to mentor her. One thing leads to another, Diego beds her and the two start a lusty affair, which encompasses her art, his murals, and his communist / leftist leanings. Not to mention his womanizing.
When Diego’s lust eats up Frida’s lonely sister, she divorces him and pursues her art and passion even more vigorously. This takes her to places like Paris where she also explores her penchant for women(!). When she returns to live with his father, Diego brings the fugitive Russian communist Leon Trotsky to be a guest in her house. Now lonely Frida, has a short affair with this old Russian too!!!.
Frida’s body catches up with her and once again leaves her a ’’Talented Cripple’’. Diego returns to his ill and impoverished ex-wife, only to remarry her. Frida went on to paint many pictures and was quite famous across the globe. She eventually succumbed to her pain and relentless drub abuse in the age of 47.
Now the analysis...
Story (4/5)
Accepted that this aint no genuine quality original story, it aint no remake or sequel or movies based on comic strip characters or television shows which seem to flood the silver screen these days. Though this cinematic biography lacks that original writing, it never ceases to amaze you throughout the movie. It gives you an opportunity to look and examine the life of a historical character and understand the emotion behind their works.
Direction (3/5)
Julie Taymor known for her The Lion King, Titus and a number of critically acclaimed operas, mixes a vibrant Frida and her paintings with mixed media to depict her imagination, pragmatism and the effects of her subjects leave on her life.
I don’t know much about Mexicans nor I have been to that part of the country. But I felt that though the set or location looked Mexican, the characters did not seem to mix or merge with their surroundings!! Probably trying to make it a ’’real’’ Mexico might have reduced this movie to a mere biography. The Director’s attempt to make surreal interludes in the movie removes the slack which is normally evident in these kind of scenes.
An impressive dream sequence which depicts Frida’s painful back surgery.
A Black and white montage depicting Rivera as King Kong conquering the New York art world.
King Kong (figuratively Diego) falling off the Empire State Building in Frida’s bath tub to depict his fall from grace in New York after Rockefeller demolishes his wall painting at the Rockefeller Center Lobby.
The waxing and waning of paintings into real life or real life into paintings throughout the movie to illustrate the story behind Frida’s many famous paintings
These are some of the depictions and imagination of Taymor through Frida which bolsters the common belief that Frida was always filled with vivid, colorful imagination which fuelled her paintings.
Cast (4/5)
Though Salma Hayek is caught between the pressure of illustrating a personality of such magnitude and essaying the role of her lifetime to perfection and critical acclaim. With heart racing hot scenes and immaculate expressions she steals our hearts.
Alfred Molina impresses with his subtle performance as Diego Rivera. His portrayal as a disloyal husband, cocky socialist, deserted socialist seeking fame in capitalist America is worth a mention.
Others like Ashley Judd, as a jovial, mischievous Mexican party girl, Antonio Banderas in a neat cameo role as a heated communist David Alfaro Siqueiros, Ed Norton as a young Nelson Rockefeller and Geoffrey Rush as the fugitive communist Leon Trotsky escaping from Stalin, also impress us to stay with Frida till the curtain fall.
Movie Pace (4/5)
When I first rented the CD, I felt this is going to be another biography for two hours. But the movie pace never slackened, even if it is a sequence of Frida’s imagination or if it is her sexual exploration. Precisely put, a scene stands on the screen just enough to keep you till the end and not irritate you with directorial glory. Should say it is the just pace of the movie. which pushes this biopic to an unlikely Hollywood film.</p>
Background Score & Music (3/5)
Honestly, I was ’’concentrating so deeply’’ in the movie, I sort of didn’t listen carefully the background score. But two songs (I don’t know what are they), one in Frida’s Marriage and other when Salma dances with Ashley... too good numbers..
Final Verdict (4/5)
Ofcourse my judgment is not entirely based on those hot, passionate scenes. The successful portrayal of a troublesome character and again an artist, by Salma Hayek which touched those fine strings in my heart and the imaginative direction of Taymor, made me put a score of 4 against its name. A decent pace, good story line and fine cast adds to the mileage of this movie. It is a movie you should watch once. Quite sure that 2 hours will not be a waste...
Un epitaph para un artista aclamado de otro gran artista
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(Dunno If I got that spanish line correct...)
Eagerly awaiting for your comments...
Venkat